Amusement or transporting device.



n4. 1L 9 1M ,E 2H 14 wm E NH dS vDuro m a D1 I KIRALPY AMUSBMENT 0RTRANSPORTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28. 1912.

I. KIRALFY. AMUSEMBNT 0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2a.1912.

1,043,846, Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I. KIRALPY. AMUSEMENT 0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE.

APPLLGATION FILED JUNE 2B. 1912.

1,043,846, Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHBBT 3.

l al d? al Jp fl In 11e/@072- COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0.. wsHlNuToN. D. c.

I. KIRALPY. AMUSEMENT 0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28. 1912.

Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

6 SHEETSSHEET 4.

[71, Ver@ or COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Co..w.SH1NclToN n I. KIRALPY. AMUSBMENT0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE.

APPLIGAT/ON FILED JUNE 28. 1912. 1,043,846, v Patented Nov. 12,1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

. Y.l I #WM I. KIRALFY. AMUSBMENT 0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE.

APPLIUATION FILED JUNI'. Z8. 1912. 1,043,846. Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

COLUMBIA PLANQUE/PH 0..WASHINUTON. D. c.

meissie.

Ffm er ATN FFQF.

AMUSEMENT 0R TRANSPORTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Nov. i2, i912.

Application filed .Tune 28, 1912. Serial No. 706,469.

it; aft mlm/n may concern.' Be it known that I, linnn KinALrY, a sub*ject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Tower House, CromwellRoad, South Kensington, in the county of London, England, have inventedcertain new and useful improvements in Amusement or TransportingDevices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved amusement or transporting devicecompris ing a numberl of pivotally mounted or swinging arms orcant-alivers adapted to ccoperate to convey cars or bodies from oneplace to another, said arms or cantalivers being provided with grips orclutches adapted 'for operation in such a manner as to engage andrelease the car so that the' same is passed from one arm or cantaliverto the next in the series for the purpose of being conveyed from one endto the other of a course or track.

In order that the said invention maybe clearly understood and readilycarried into effectI l will proceed to describe the same with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a track provided with the swinging arms orcantalivers. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevation. Fig. 3 is a partialside elevation drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. i is a partial plan viewof the driving gear for the swinging arms, and Fig. 5 an elevationthereof. Fig. 6 is an end view of one of the swinging arms. Fig. 7 is anenlarged plan view of a track for conveying the cars from one set ofswinging arms to an adjacent set. Fig. 8 a cross section thereof. Figs.9 and 10 are detail views of the ends of the aforesaid track showing themeans for transferring the cars to the swinging arms and for receivingthe cars from said arms. Fig. 11 is an elevation of a modified form ofswinging arm which is adapted to receive a supplementary movement andthe gearing for imparting such movement to the same. Fig. l2 is a planof the arrangement and Fig.

13 an end view thereof. Fig. 14 is a detail view of the modified arm.Fig. 15 is an enlarged view of the lower end of one of the swinging armsshowing the clutches and safety device. Figs. 16 and 17 are respectivelya front elevation and end view of the other end of the swinging arm and.safety4 device. Fig. 1S is a view showing a swinging arm with the safetydevice in three different positions. Fig. 19 shows a band brakepertaining to the safety devices. Figs. 20 and 21 are respectively afront and side elevation of one of the cars employed in the device.Figs. 22 and 23 respectively an elevation and plan of a platform andstaging for loading and unloading said cars. Fig. 24.-. is a crosssection of Fig. 22.

According to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the deviceco-mprises a framework a which is arranged so as to constitute anendless track for the passage of the cars, said track having twostraight side portions c', a2 which are connected by end portions a3,a4. it will of course be un derstood that the framework a may bearranged in any other way to suit requirements. The straight portions ac2 of the framework a support a` number of pivotally mounted swingingarms or cantalivers a5 which are adapted to be operated by crankmechanism a connected to the upper ends of said arms, suitablecounterweights a* being provided on said arms to facilitate theoperation thereof. A main driving shaft a? extends along the length ofthe framework a and is provided with double bevel gears as for actuatingthe crank mechanism a pertaining to each pair of swinging arms. Theswinging arms a5 may be formed as a kind of trellis or open ironwork andbe constructed in the main of iron or steel, of angle, girder, bar orother section. @n the lower end of each arm c5 a suitable clutch isprovided and' this member is formed of two hooks a9, n10 Fig. 5 whichare arranged so as to be capable of relative movement, the respectivemovements being imparted to said hooks so that they may engage andrelease a car and pass the same from one arm a5 to the next in theseries for the purpose of conveying the same from one end to the otherof the course or track. The hooks a, alf are connected to rods (011,612which extend to the upper end of the swinging arm and which are providedwith rollers c, au. The roller cl3 on the rod a engages with a camgroove @.15 formed in a plate or member al fixed to the framework a andthe roller al* on the rod cl2 with a cam groove a formed in the sameplate or member. As the arm a5 swings on its pivot or shaft I) therollers als, a14 traverse the respect-ive cam grooves and through therods @11, @.12 impart movement to the hooks a9 a1@ causing the same toslide along the arm a5. The major portions of the cam grooves L15 andL17 are formed to curves struck from the pivot 6 of the swinging arm butone end of each groove is extended outwardly as shown at 6 and 62, theextended portion 6 of the cam groove L15 being situated at the oppositeend to the extended portion 62 of the cam groove @11. l/Vhen the rollersQ13 @11' are in the concentric curved portions of the cam grooves thehooks a9, u1@ are closed but when one or other of the rollers enters theoutwardly extending portion of its cam groove it serves to move its hookaway from the other coacting hook. Owing to the disposition of theoutwardl f extending portions on the respective cam grooves it will beseen that the respective hooks are actuated at the opposite endpositions of the swinging arm, the hook a being operated when the arm a5is at the right hand end of its swing, Fig. 3, and the hook a1" when thearm a5 is at the other end of its swing. The arms a5 are pivoted on theframework a at such a distance apart that their lower depending ends areadapted to cross or overlap, each arm overlapping one or other of itstwo adjacent arms at the respective limit positions of displacement orswing thereof.

In order to obtain the correct position of the pairs of coacting arms a5it is necessary that each arm of the series lags behind the precedingarm in its swinging movement, so that when the first arm has reached theend of its swinging movement the second arm is just approaching the endof its swingmg movement, this difference of position or lag extendingthroughout the consecutive arms of the series. The necessary lag mayreadily be obtained when the device is assembled by setting' the bevelgears as of the respective arms one o-r two teeth in advance of the gearpertaining to the preceding arm.

The arms a5 are adapted to convey cars 63 Figs. 2O and 2l which comprisea body portion 61 provided with a seat 65 and a foot rest or support forthe passenger or passengers. The car has side members 6G which areprovided at their upper ends with bearings 61; a shaft 68 is journaledin these bearings and has secured thereto a number of wheels 69, 610which are adapted to engage with a rail or track when the car isdisengaged from the swinging arms as will be hereinafter described. Ifdesired the cars may be constructed as cages, tubs or drums or any othershape to suit the use to which they are put. The hooks on the lower endof the swinging arms a5 are adapted to engage with the shaft 68 of thecar as shown in Fig. 3, so that the car may preserve a vertical attitudethe car however being free to swing when subjectedA to the movement j ll l l I incidental to the operation of the arms a5 and its transferencefrom one arm to another of the series in succession.

Referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the arm a5 on the extreme rightof the figure is supporting a car 63 and that its hook a1() has beendrawn away from the coacting hook a9 of the clutch. The arm is in factjust starting on its return swing and is about to transfer' the car 63to the adjacent arm a5 which is approaching the end of its swing andwhich has its hook t9 drawn away from the hook a1". The car will thus betransferred from the hook a on the first arm to the hook a1@ on thesecond arm and so on throughout the series of arms. lft will be seenthat the hoo-ks a9, a1 on the swinging arms a are only opened orseparated atk the ends of the swinging movement of the said arms whenthe car is received from or transferred to an adjacent arm. lDuring themain portion of the swinging movement of the arm the hooks o9, a1 areclosed orkept together so that there is no danger of the car leaving orfalling from the arm, the car only becoming disengaged from the`swinging arm when the adjacent arm is in position to receive the same.-

To avoid any risk of accident arising from the failure to transfer a carfrom one arm to another and the car on the returning arm colliding withthe car on the forwardly moving' arm a safety attachment is applied toeach arm. The arrangement is sho wn in Figs. l5 to 18, and comprises acatch or trigger 611 of bell crank formation which is pivc-ted to thehook a, of the swinging arm a5. (lne arm 612 of the trigger is connectedby a rod 613 with a lever 61@t pivoted to the upper end of the swingingarm a5 and is adapted to actuate the same as hereinafter described. Thelever 614 is provided with a counterweight 615 and a pawl 616 which isadapted to engage with a segmental ratchet 619 l loosely mounted on thepivot 6 of the swinging arm so as to be capable of angular movementthereon. Suitable stop pins 617 are provided on the swinging arm a5 tocontrol the extent of the movement of the pawl 616 and to keep the samein working relationship with the segmental ratchet 61. Each arm isprovided with a safety attachment and the several segmental ratchets areconnect-ed by a sliding rod 0,18, Figs. 16 and 18, this rod beingarranged to operate a band brake o,

p Fig. 19, on the main driving' shaft a1' when movement is impartedthereto by one or more of the segmental ratchets. In this way the motionof the swinging arms is retarded or stopped when the segmental ratchetsare displaced by the pawls pertaining thereto. Instead of controlling aband brake or similar device the rod @1S may be arranged to control a.switch or valve pertaining to the electric motor or other prime moveremp Swinging movement of ployed'to a-ctuate the device. 'lhe safety tiona of the track suitable means are prodevice is operated by the shaft ZJSof the car vided for effecting the transference. rEhe b3 when it isengaged by the hooks a, @1 at the lower extremity of the swinging arm.Zhen the car is transferred to the swinging arm it is received by thehook al, Fig. 3, and as vthe arm is performing its forward swingingmovement the hook a is brought up to the hook o1". After the arm a5 haspassed the vertical position the shaft Zi of the car Z)3 will roll fromthe hook al to the hook a9 and will engage with and depress the triggerZ211, causing the same to turn about its pivot and dra w down the rod513, and with it, the lever b1* and pawl bw. The pawl Z216 however willnot engage with the segmental ratchet 61 as the teeth of the latter areso arranged that during the forward the arm a 'the Vpawl will ridefreely over the saine. If the car b3 is transferred from the arm a. tothe adja` cent arm at the end of its forward swinging movement thetrigger 511 will be returned to its normal position by thecounterweight, 515 on the lever Zt. The lever Z914 will then assume theposition shown on the arm o5 at the right hand side of Fig. 1S, and thepawl Z219 will be drawn or turned away from the ratchet .7)19 so that itwill be out of engagement with the same when the arm a5 is performingits return swinging I movement. Should the arm a5 fail to transfer thecar Zig to the adjacent arm at the end of its forward movement, theshaft bs will retain the trigger Z211 in its depressed position duringthe return swing of the arm and the pawl Z216 will engage with andoperate the segmental ratchet Z 19 as shown on the middle arm a5 in Fig.18. Consequently the brake c, Fig. 19, or a switch or valve pertainingto the actuating motor will be operated to stop the swinging arms. rIhearrangement is such that all the arms will be stopped if one or more ofthe same fail to transfer the car or cars in the manner described.

The end portion a3 of the track, Figs. l and 7 is provided with rails cc1 which are adapted to engage with the wheels b9, on the shaft bs ofthe car when this latter is to be brought from the last swinging arm onthe straight portion a2 of the track to the first swinging arm on theport-ion a of the track. ln order to prevent the wheels Z39 binding onthe curve of the end portion a3 of the track a supplementary rail c3,Fig. 7, is provided which is adapted to engage with the wheel Z910 ofthe car. is the inner wheel b1 is of smaller diameter than the outerwheel Z2 the necessary differential movement for compensating for thecurvature of the track is obtained and all danger of the car becominglocked between the rails avoided.

As the car has to be transferred from one end of the portion a3 of thetrack to the first of the swinging arms a5 on the straight poroutgoingend of the portion a3 of tl e track is finished with a sliding arm orrail c4, Fig. 9, which is adapted to receive the car Z)3 and carry thesame into the path of the first swinging arm a5 as shown in the dottedposition Fig. 9. The sliding or reciprocating movement is imparted tothe arm or rail c4 by a pivoted lever o5 which is operatively connectedto a cam c carried by the shaft c7 of one of the bevel gears asimparting the swinging movement to the first arm a5. The cam c has to beset so that the movements of the sliding arm c* correspond with those ofthe arm a5 and when this latter is approaching its highest altitude thearm c* slides out so that the hook al@ may take the car therefrom, the,arm c4E is also withdrawn before the swinging arm a5 commences itsreturn movement. All the movements are timed to eiect the automatictransference of the cars and this is readily effected bv suitablyadjusting and setting the cam c, i similar sliding arm o* is provided onthe incoming end of the portion a of the track, Fig. 10, and this railis adapted to receive the car from the last swinging arm on that side ofthe track. The arm c* is operated in a similar manner to that previouslydescribed but its movements are timed so that it is moved out to engagewith the car when the arm a5 has reached its highest altitude and is notwithdrawn until the said arm has commenced its return or downwardmovement and is out of the path of the sliding arm.

The end portion a* of the track remote from the starting point providedwith a swinging arm (Z Figs. ll to 14 which in addition to the ordinaryswinging movement is adapted to receive a supplementary movement orangular displacement between the two series of arms a5 on the straightportions Lag of the track so as to transfer the car from one series tothe other. This arm l is pivoted or swung on a shaft d which in turn isrigidly connected Awith a vertical shaft Z2 mounted in afootstep bearingda formed on a ypedestal or support (Z1. The upper end of the shaft (Z1is provided with a gear wheel Z5 which is in engagement with a toothedsector ZG pivoted adjacent to said shaft cl2. One end of a rod or link(Z1 is connected to the sector (Z6 and the other end of the said rod issecured to a bevel wheel ZS which meshes with a bevel pinion (Z9 carriedby the main driving shaft (N. As the driving shaft rotates an angularmovement is iinparted to the sector Z6 through the intervention of thebevel wheels als, d and the link dl. A corresponding angular movementwill be imparted to the wheel Z5 and through this latter to the arm (l,the movement being of such an amplitude as to swing the arm from oneseries of arms a5 to the other. The shaft CZ carrying the arm CZ issupported at its outer end by a carriage Zio which is provided withwheels or rollers c for engaging with a seini-circular rail or course esecured to the main frame-work of the dev'ice. rIhe arm Z is provided atits lower end with hooks a, L10 which are operated in a similar mannerto the corresponding hooks on the arms a5; the cam plate or member al isfixed to the shaft d and actuates the hooks when the arm Z swings on theshaft d. The swinging movement is imparted to the arm Z bl i a gearingarranged at the end of the shaft eZ. This gearing comprises a toothedwheel c secured to the inner end of said shaft the inner end passing'through a hollow shaft or tubular member @t secured to the verticalvshaft (Z2. The wheel a3 is adapted to engage with a stationary wheel c5fixed tothe pedestal or support (Zt and as the semi-circular movement isimparted to the arm Z the wheel e3 rotates over the wheel e5 and throughthe shaft d imparts the desired swinging movement to the arm cl.

Motion maybe imparted tothe main driving shaft c7 by means of the motorc6 and gearing c7 shown in Fig. ll.

The end ai of the track may be provided with platforms y and f foreffecting the loading` and unloading of the cars when they are suspendedfrom the stationary rails c, c2 as shown in Figs. 22 to 24.

The device may be arranged in a suitable structure f2 or be placed inthe open.

It will be understood that the track may be arranged as liereinbeforedescribed or the same may be of a continuous or endless character if thespace at disposal will allow of such an arrangement being adopted. Thecourse may, in some cases, be straight, bent, curved, sinuous or otherdesired forms so as to afford the greatest sensations to those engagingin the amusement.

The device may be constructed to any desired scale and if required itmay be in the form of a toy for affording amusement in the house orotherwise.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis l. An amusement or transporting device comprising a car and a numberof swinging arms which are adapted to carry said car and to successivelycooperate in such a manner as to effect the transit of said car from oneplace to another.

2. An amusement or transporting device comprising a car and a number ofmoving arms which are adapted to carry said car and to cooperate insequence to effect the transit of said car from one place to another.

3. An amusement or transporting device comprising in combination a car,a number of cooperating moving arms, and clutches l i l I on said armsadapted to engage and release the car so that the same is passed fromone arm to the next in the series.

et. An amusement or transporting device comprising in combination a car,a number of cooperating swinging arms, clutches on said arms and camsfor operating said clutches so that they may be in condition forreceiving and transferring the car when the arms are at the respectivellimit positions of displacement.

5. In an amusement or transporting device the combination of a number ofcars, a number of swinging arms which are adapted to cooperate insequence to successively receive convey and transfer the cars and safetydevices on said swinging' arms which are adapted to retard or stop themovement of the arms if one or more of the same fails or fail totransfer or deliver a car to the adjacentarm or device for receiving thesame.

6. In an amusement or transporting device tlie combination of a numberof cars, a plurality of cooperating swinging arms, clutches on saidarms, cams for operating said clutches for receiving and transferringthe cars and safety devices on said swinging arms for retarding orstopping the movement of the arms if one or more of the same fails orfail to transfer or deliver a car to the adjacent arm or device forreceiving the same.

7. In an amusement or transporting device the combination of a numberlof cars, a plurality of cooperating swinging arms, clutches on saidarms, cams for operating said clutches for receiving and transferringthe cars and a number of interconnected safety devices which are adaptedto retard or stop the movement of the arms if one or more of the samefails or fail to transfer or deliver a car to the adjacent arm or devicefor receiving the same;

8. In an amusement or vice the combination of aA number of cars, aplurality of cooperating swinging arms, clutches on said arms, cams forkoperating said clutches for receiving and transferring the cars and asafety device on each of the swinging arms comprising a ratchet and pawlmechanism which is adapted to effect the stoppage of the same if the caris not transferred at the end of the forward movement thereof.

9. In an amusement or transporting device the combination of a car, anumber of swinging arms which are adapted to cooperate in sequence toconvey the car and a swinging arm which receives a supplementarymovement by the displacement of its pivot or support so as to change theline of motion of the car.

l0. In anainusement or transporting device the combination of a car, anumber of transporting deswinging arms which are adapted to engage andrelease the car so that the\same is passed from one arm to the next inthe series and a number of swinging arms which receive a supplementarymovementso as to change the line of motion of the car.

, 1l. ln an amusement or transporting device the combination of a car, anumber of swinging arms which are adapted to en gage and release the carso that the same passed from one arm to the next in the series, a numberof swinging arms which receive a supplementary7 movement so as to changethe line of motion of the car, a track for supporting the car during theloading and discharging operations and reciprocating end rails on saidtrack, adapted to transfer the car to or receive the same from theswinging arms.

12. ln an amusement or transporting device the combination of a car, anumber of cooperating swinging arms, clutches on said arms, cams foroperating said clutches so that they may be in condition for receivingand transferring the car, a swinging arm which receives a supplementarymovement so as to change the line of motion of the car, a track forsupporting the car during the loading and discharging operationsandreciprocating end rails on said track adapted to transfer the car toor receive the same from the swinging arms.

13. ln an amusement or transporting de- 'vice the combination of a car,a number of cooperating swinging arms, a main driving shaft, gearing foractuating said swinging arms so that they lag behind each other in theirswinging movements, clutches on the swinging arms, cams for operatingsaid clutches so that they may be in condition for receiving andtransferring the car, a swinging arm which receives a supplement arymovement so as to change the line of motion of the car a track forsupporting the car during the loading and discharging op erations andreciprocating end rails on said track adapted to transfer' the car to orreceive the same from the swinging arms.

lll. ln an amusement or transporting device the combination of a car, ashaft rotatably mounted thereon, a number of wheels of different`diameters on said shaft, a number cf cooperating swinging arms, a drir7Aing shaft, gearing for actuating said swinging arms, so that they lagbehind each other in their swinging movements, clutches on the swingingarms, cams for operating said clutches so that they may be in conditionfor receiving and transferring the car, a swinging arm which receives asupplementary movement so as to change the line of motion of the car, atrack for supporting the car during the loading and dischargingoperations and reciprocating end rails on said track adapted to transferthe car to or receive the same from the swinging arms.

ln testimony whereof l atliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IMRE KlRALltY. `Witnessesz EUsrAcn H. BURKE, ARTHUR T. WAGHORN.

Copies or this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Fatents,

Washington, D. C.

